A Sour Ice Cream
by sodnam
Summary: Yang introduces Ruby to her new girlfriend, but thing don't go quite as planned... (Complete trash, would not recommend.)
1. Coffee with her old nemesis

**Here we are again. This time I decided to try my hand at crack. It's weird, and far from my best, but maybe you guys will enjoy. Stranger things have happened. The premise was built in a discussion over at /r/RWBY, and I had some ideas for it, so I decided 'why the hell not?'**

 **This is set after V3, with quite a few divergences from canon. See if you can spot them.**

* * *

 **1\. Coffee with her old nemesis**

"So, I finally get to meet your girlfriend?" Ruby was ecstatic, skipping in her step from joy. It had been months since her sister had found a match, and still they hadn't been introduced. She had long started imagining what the woman would be like. Drop-dead gorgeous and mature or a playful trickster like the blonde herself, she couldn't decide.

"Oh come on, Rubes, chill for a second." Yang was _really_ not as excited about the upcoming date. There were so many things that could go wrong, and she was sure they would _all_ come to pass. The brawler was generally an upbeat and optimistic person, but this meeting had disaster written all over it. She'd only agreed to it because she had practically been strong-armed into it. "But yes, only a bit further along."

The red-hooded huntress squealed in delight, trying to hurry her sibling's pace. Her curiosity was gnawing at her mind, unable to contain the need to know. Stopping for a second, she cleared her throat and decided upon a much composed walk, almost lady-like, one that would've made Weiss proud. She had been waiting for this event for so long, and there was no way she was going to ruin it. It was her dear sister's heart, and she wouldn't dare to put it at risk.

Crossing the street, they proceeded to turn a corner through the alleyways of Vale. The morning was quiet, most people at work since it was a regular work day, trying to recover from the disasters that had terrorized the city not long ago. Luckily the staff at Beacon were still fighting for control of the school, which gave the hunters and huntresses-in-training a much needed break, making the upcoming gathering a possibility.

At long last reaching the agreed establishment, Ruby looked at the establishment they were approaching. It was a small coffee shop that doubled as a bakery, something Yang had probably planned for – they were known for their mean strawberry cookies – with some tables set up outsides, allowing the costumers to enjoy their breakfast under the protection of cute little pink umbrellas.

The scythe-wielder silently nodded in approval of the place. But before she could notice the people who sat by the store's front, she heard a voice that chilled her spine.

"Red?"

Without second thought, she grabbed the weapon packed behind her back, and unleashed it into scythe form. Following the recognizable sound, she spotted a ginger man dressed in white, who too looked incredibly displeasured, pointing his cane at her menacingly. At his side was a short girl with brown and pink hair, sitting casually like the scene didn't bother her at all.

"Roman… and your lackey. What are you doing here?" Ruby was trying to be imposing, but her diminutive size and high pitched voice were making it very hard. Of all the things she'd envisioned for the day, finding a notorious criminal mastermind was low on the list. And now Yang's date was ruined for sure.

"I'm meeting someone. Innocent stuff, I promise. No need to go all huntress on me, darling. How about we agree to part ways without a fight? I'd hate to wipe the floor with you like last time, my suit just came back from dry cleaning."

"No way, you're going down today. Right, Yang?"

She looked over to her sibling, and was dumbstruck to see that she wasn't in any form of battle stance. She hadn't retracted her gauntlets, she wasn't even looking at the enemy. Yang was staring at Ruby with an expression mixed between sadness and embarrassment.

"Actually, Ruby… They're the ones we came to meet." The speedster couldn't make sense of the words coming her way, looking more and more confused. "You wanted to meet my girlfriend, well… there she is."

Her sniper-trained eyes followed the direction her sister was pointing, and fell on the short girl by Torchwick's side, who now had an amused smile on her lips.

"I don't get it. Is she behind Neo?" She asked innocently.

"She IS Neo, Ruby…"

Their conversation was interrupted by one very upset red-haired man.

"This has got to be a joke. No, this is another of Mercury's pranks, I just know it." His partner grabbed his arm, and traded a glance with him that voiced more than words ever could. He stopped yelling, but by no means did he settle down. "You're serious? Neo, sweetheart, for the love of Oum, of all the pretty girls you could have, you went and picked the devil's sister?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, and smiled at the blonde, who was still deciding how to handle her time bomb of a sibling.

Ruby kept looking at Neo, then at Yang, and back again, failing to make coherent sounds leave her mouth. Her sister opted for grabbing her shoulders tight, lowering herself slightly and whispering an explanation.

"I know this is a lot to take in, but I'm serious. She's the one I've been dating this whole time. And I really want you guys to get along, so please, _please_ , can you behave?"

The dark-haired girl swallowed hard and nodded. She had promised she wouldn't do anything to compromise the event, and she still meant it. She could tell it was important for the brawler.

"Same goes for you, Roman. No funny business."

"Hey don't look at me, I'm not the one with a body-part slicing death machine in my hands."

Taking the hint, the silver-eyed girl collapsed her weapon and returned it to her back. Then, she took a seat across from the sharply-dressed man, allowing her sister to sit next to Neo. Yang extended her hand towards her girlfriend's, in a strangely strong grip. Ruby couldn't decide if they were intertwining fingers or arm-wrestling, which was, in truth, oddly fitting for those two.

Roman was the one to break the silence.

"All right, you got me curious now, how the hell did this happen?"

"After the battle of Beacon, we went back to Patch. Ruby, you were still recovering from whatever happened at the tower, and one day… I was training outside, and Neo just kinda… floated into our backyard on that puny little umbrella she calls a weapon." The blonde threw her tongue out at the multi-colored girl, who only rolled her eyes, with an unspoken promise for later payback.

"We fought, obviously. Oh dear Oum, did we fight. She was tired, famished, I think she might've been drifting around the air for days, but she was still quite the opponent. But in the end, I won, obviously." She interrupted the monologue to give a proud and confident smile, flexing her free arm to show her bulging muscles, before continuing.

"I couldn't take her out, it's hard to kill something that looks so adorable. So I gave her some food and sent her away, warning her of the ass-wiping she'd get if she ever returned. But she came back the next day. We fought again, this time we came to a standstill, and we rematched every day for a week. It was nice to get to fight someone my level, keeping the blood flowing. Until one time, we just got tired of fighting, and we…" Yang managed to stop herself just before the saucy part, remembering her innocent under-aged sister hearing the whole thing. "... _yanged_."

"Oh gross, sis. I was even in the house!" Ruby shivered at the mental image.

"You were unconscious! Also, trust me, I skipped the 'gross' details. And there were many, believe you me." She nearly purred those last words, staring seductively at the pink-haired girl. "After you woke up, and she found Torchwick, it became harder to meet up. Which reminds me, Roman, Rubes said you got eaten by a gryphon and exploded, how did you survive that?"

He shrugged and simply said "Aura." When the glares his way made clear it wasn't enough, he was forced to continue.

"Grimm apparently aren't too fond of chewing their food. His entrails mostly protected me from the explosion, though it took forever to get the smell off my clothes. And that beast owes me a new hat, the fiend."

Neo patted him on the back, trying to console the sorrow of losing his favorite accessory. Satisfied with the explanation, the brawler took to finishing her story.

"It turns out that since _someone_ froze Cinder to the top of the CCT, they don't have to keep working for her, so they managed to stick around."

"Don't expect any thanks, Red."

Roman received a quick look from his short partner, and though Ruby couldn't see it, it was clear he was terrified by what he saw. Neo really could be intimidating when she wanted to. He didn't delay in correcting his prior statement.

"Ahem. Thanks, Ruby."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. There's something I'm curious about. How do you two, you know… talk?"

Yang smiled coyly. "We have our ways…"

Roman cut in, seeming almost startled.

"Wait, you figured out too how to..." He didn't finish, and there was an exchange of glances between him and the blonde. They reached a conclusion without saying anything, and pretended nothing had happened, to the red-hooded huntress' great dismay.

"What? How do you do it? Does she write or something, come on, tell me!" The entire table laughed, and no one responded.

Instead, the conversation was switched to a different topic, and the rest of the date went uneventfully. Ruby was on her best behavior, trying to get past the fact that her sister was dating a fun-sized sociopath, and she was having coffee with her old nemesis, the man who had started her journey in Beacon.

When they parted ways, she breathed in relief of being released from the grip of the company she was in. It was going to take a lot of getting used before she could properly process her sister's new relationship. Luckily she didn't think she would have to see either of them again so soon.

Oh, how she was wrong...

* * *

 **So, hum, yeah. That happened.**

 **In case you didn't notice, Yang still has both arms and Cinder is stuck with Kevin. What that means in the larger picture, I'll let you figure that out for yourselves. There will be more clues in future chapters.**

 **I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but oh well,** **I hope you enjoyed it.**


	2. Vendetta

**For some reason I totally do not understand, some people actually seemed to like this, so I guess I'll keep posting.**

 **Also, maybe I should've mentioned before, but this story is about Roman and Ruby. Baked Alaska will be happening, but they're not the main focus.**

* * *

 **2\. Vendetta**

Ruby descended from the airship, and made her way over to the bakery. It was quite the _déjà vu_ , to be once again heading to that place she now dreaded, after the events of two days before, but this time she wasn't supposed to be on a blind date with maniacs. It would just be her and her sister, a cordial meeting between siblings, so Yang could make it up to her for the fiasco. It was quite unlike her to be guilt-tripping her sister like so, but she would never turn down such an easy way to get free cookies, no matter how sleazy the methods.

As she found the entrance, her silver eyes spotted a familiar sight of a ginger man in a white suit. Just how many white suits did he have? Ruby always wore similar apparel herself, but it was a combat garment, so it was understandable. The master-criminal had no such excuse.

"Roman." She said curtly, nodding ever so slightly.

"Red." He responded in kind, as displeased by the sudden run-in as she was.

"Taking a break from kicking puppies?"

"Very funny. You take after your sister, I see."

As their exchange was about to end, the scythe-wielder moving on to await her sibling, a waitress approached the table with an envelope in hand, cutting off her escape.

"Sir, ma'am, I've been instructed to deliver this to you." She handed the letter to Torchwick, who made no motion to pick it up whatsoever.

"I think this is a mistake, we're not here together."

"Oh, that's strange, I was told to give it to, and I quote, 'a cutesy red-hooded girl and a ginger man whose fashion sense is still stuck twenty years ago.' Not a lot of our clients really match the description."

"Hey, this outfit is quite stylish, thank you very much!" Roman interjected, but no one paid attention to his offended state.

"Let me guess, it was a blonde woman with too much cleavage that said this to you?" Ruby felt slightly insulted as well. She wasn't cutesy! She was a hard-trained killing machine! _Huntresses aren't cute, they're badass!_

"With a bi-colored little girl at her arm, yes. Quite lovely, although kind of quiet now that I think about it…"

The pair of customers traded a disgruntled but worried look. Those two pulling the rug from under their feet was not a good sign. Roman picked up the paper, and the employee excused herself, not desiring to pry on their private business. He then read it out loud.

" _Dear family,_

 _After seeing how little you two get along, we thought it best to let you have some time to get to know each other. We're sure you can put your differences apart at least once._

 _With love,_

 _Baked Alaska_

 _PS. Ruby, I know where you keep your stash of sweets, so you'd better play nice._

 _PSS. Same goes for you and your scotch, Roman."_

"Baked Alaska? Isn't that the recipe for ice cream on fire?" The criminal was confused by the letter, and his question took hold before his anger could.

"Ugh. That sounds exactly the kind of pun Yang would come up with. So I guess we're stuck with each other, huh?"

"Didn't the exact same thing happen already? They could at least try to be a little more original."

They attempted to make small talk over coffee, but nothing seemed to pick up. There was nothing they had in common to talk about. As time dragged on, they were both getting more and more annoyed, and next to no progress had been made in mending the bridges between them. That is, until Torchwick came up with a brilliant idea.

"Look, Red, I don't want to be here, and I'm guessing you feel the same." Ruby nodded in agreement, allowing him to proceed. "This has gone on for long enough, I think it's time we do something about it."

"What are you saying?"

"Revenge, my dear. I'm saying we get back at those two for trying to cross us." There was a perverse smile on his face as he uttered the words.

"All right, as long as no one gets hurt, I'm in. I assume you have something in mind?" The look Roman was giving her was of distressing resolution, so she figured he would go forward with or without her. The least she could do was making sure there were no _fatal_ mishaps.

"Don't underestimate me, darling. I'm called a criminal mastermind for a reason. I just need some more info on your lovely sister."

And so they plotted their vendetta all through the morning, butting heads about the details. Once they had been given a point of focus, the interactions between the two went much more smoothly. The huntress was surprised to realize how well they worked together, despite their history as enemies.

* * *

Torchwick walked in the room with two pairs of metallic shackles. The red-hooded girl was busy setting up the stage for their play, and she barely noticed his sudden appearance. When he spoke, she jumped up in surprise.

"Got the handcuffs you asked for. What do you even need them for?" The plan had been designed by the pair, but in truth Ruby had been the one to dominate the conspiracy, and some of the details had been kept a surprise even from her partner. The ginger wasn't too comfortable with it, but he decided to let her run wild, doing his part to be amenable. He did **not** want to be apart from his scotch, especially right then when he so desperately needed a drink. Plus, it was rather nice to see the redhead so invested in the revenge, it was like watching (and overseeing) the origin of a new recruit for the criminal underworld.

"We're going to trap them by one of their feet inside the bathroom, and leave them alone with a handsaw. Then they'll need to decide what they value the most, a foot or freedom. But we'll be right outside, so they won't actually get hurt or anything, it's just psychological warfare. Don't worry, I saw this is a movie!"

 _What kind of movies has this girl been watching?_ Roman was both frightened and delighted by how unbelievably twisted the plan was. And it was even fairly solid, much to his surprise. Maybe he still had a chance at turning to huntress to the dark side after all. _Just imagine what we could achieve with my mentoring._

He helped in everything he could, and even managed to sneak in some improvements of his own. The Great Roman Torchwick wouldn't be reduced to a grunt doing the heavy lifting, if he wasn't to lead the assault he would at least make sure the work was up to his standards. There would be no chance of failing. Well, not until Ruby decided to put her foot down on one matter.

"I'm just saying, we shouldn't put them just next to each other, they might get frisky, and then there goes all your psychological warfare."

"But if we put them on opposite sides, they'll think we're trying to break them apart! Besides, they're in a bathroom and handcuffed to the wall, it's not exactly a romantic setting..." The scythe-wielder was adamant, nothing could bend her will.

Torchwick sighed in defeat. _Is it possible that she really doesn't know what handcuffs are used for? Besides arresting, of course..._ Not that he had a lot of experience with it, naturally, his way of life had earned him a taste for freedom.

At that point he wasn't as excited about the payback itself as he'd been before. He would never admit it even to himself, but he actually had a little bit of fun with the preparations. Not being chased by the cops, or threatened by Cinder apparently allowed to take more pleasure in what he did. And perhaps the prankster had been right all along, the red-hued huntress wasn't so bland and uninteresting at all. There was more to the wannabe hero than met the eye, and it was a puzzling thing to unravel. _Could we end up getting along like Neo wanted?_

He shook his head to dismiss the thought, ashamed of himself for the blantant sentimentaly. A great mastermind like him shouldn't get emotional, he just needed to focus on the plan.

And said plan was executed to perfection, all that was left were the victims. Roman lured Neo in with a promise of ice cream, and she didn't mention the shady part of town they were in, used to much worse. Neither was she at all bothered with the blindfold that was place above her eyes, she might have even giggled during the process. The cold-blooded killer was infinitely more playful when with him, they had been partners for so long they were practically brother and sister, even despite their age gap.

He told her to sit down and wait while he went to get the forementioned desert, and left the room. Where was the Red and her sister? They were supposed to have arrived by then...

Like clockwork, as soon as he took out his scroll - right before he realized he didn't have her number - the sniper arrived, carrying the blonde with effort over the shoulder. His jaw dropped. Yang was unconscious.

"What the hell did you do to her?"

"I may have spiked her coffee..." Ruby confessed with a guilty look, like a child caught stealing candy. "She was going to see through me, it was the only way I could get her here!"

"This was supposed to be a prank but now we've gone up to drugging and kidnapping." He scratched his chin retorically, and then conjured up his sleaziest smile. "I gotta say, I like your style."

"Yeah, yeah, don't be weird, just help me get her in place."

They laid the blonde by her girlfriend's side, and proceeded to handcuff them by the foot. Torchwick walked out, while his cohort slapped Yang so she'd wake up. Just as she was coming to her senses, Ruby activated her semblance to disappear from the bathroom, not before removing Neo's blindfold, with a trail of rose petals that would be hard to see in the dimly lit space.

With the door closed, they waited, giving the trap time to work its magic. When the initial nervousness faded - well, Ruby's, there was _no way_ the redheaded man would ever be stressed about something so trivial - they began talking about this and that, and conversation actually worked that time. Ploys were the best way to create bonds, they were the way Roman had met and befriended some of the best men the White Fang had to offer, like Perry and... he couldn't remember the names of the others, but it wasn't important, the point stood.

After a few minutes passed, neither of them knew how many, sounds started coming out from the door. The scythe-wielder jumped at the novelty, and pressed her ear against the metallic surface, trying to distinguish the noises. Torchwick stared expectantly for any new information.

"I can't hear a thing. They're talking, but I can't seem to make out any words. It's almost like their just groaning..."

 _Oh no..._

"Well, maybe... Wait, Red, what are you doing?" The girl was grabbing the door handle, ready to twist it and go inside. Which was, on all accounts, a horrible idea.

"I'm going in, I need to know what they're saying. They could be in trouble!"

"I don't think you should..." He interjected, but it was too late. She opened the entrance, and her eyes shot wide open. She froze for a second, words failing to leave her mouth.

"Oh... Ew." Ruby took a step back and closed the door hurriedly, leaving the lovebirds none the wiser. She still looked rather shaken, her back against the metal and her breath irregular. "Sooo... Our plan didn't work."

"Yeah I think I got that, sweetie, spare me the details." He was slightly annoyed that all the work had been for nothing, spoiled by a rookie mistake. That was why he liked being in charge, amateurs always screwed up. Honestly, failing to foresee that outcome, just how innocent could one huntress be?

"Maybe I should've gotten a dead body..." The silver-eyed sniper was mumbling to herself.

 _A dead body? What the... seriously, what kind of movies has she been watching?!_

"Well, there's always next time..."

She smiled at his attempt to be encouraging.

"Definitely. Next time we'll get them."

* * *

 **If you have ideas about situations that'd be interesting to put Ruby and Roman in, feel free to send them to me. I have already written up to chapter 4, but I'm sure I can squeeze them in somewhere. This is not a story-heavy fic, so I can have flexibility about what happens in the future.  
**

 **Props to anyone (probably everyone) who understood which movie I was shamelessly ripping off. As always, please review or comment, because I'm sure this could _really_ use constructive criticism.**


	3. His Legacy

**Sorry for the delay, insomnia doesn't really make the best mood for writing. I had already finished this chapter, but the ones I'm working on right now are being harder than I thought, so I postponed posting for a couple of days. No, I didn't forget about posting it because I was so sleep-deprived, where do you get those preposterous ideas?**

 **Anyway, here's the third part of this dumb little thing I'm cooking up. Have fun.**

* * *

 **3\. His Legacy**

Ruby tied up her corset, questioning why she'd decided on such a complex piece of attire for her outfit. Sure it was practical in combat, to have tight-fitting clothes that wouldn't get in the way of her weapon swings and pirouettes, but at least it could have been something with less straps and knots. It was time-consuming to do it every morning, sometimes she used the school uniform just so she wouldn't have the trouble.

Having finished, she checked herself in the mirror, and threw the red cape over her shoulders, before walking to the exit. Before she reached it, her sister blocked her path with a stretched arm, looking her in the eyes with a stern look.

"Where're you going?"

"I'm meeting Roman in Vale." Ruby responded casually, assuming it wasn't a big deal. Yet, to the overprotective blonde, it was. Yang grabbed her and pinned her to the wall, lowering her voice so no one outside could hear them.

"Rubeo, do you have a crush on Torchwick?"

"WHAT? EW! He's like at least twice my age, Yang, gross!"

"Then why have you been spending so much time with him?" The two had been gathering fairly regularly, at first it was to come up with new revenge plans, but sometimes they just chatted over coffee. Ruby had been surprised at first, but the mobster could actually be quite fun, now that there was no blood-feud between them. And she was learning so much from him, about the secret underworld, how a criminal thought, things that would make her a better huntress. Nevertheless, the brawler found it to be cause for concern.

"You were the one who insisted we got along, I thought you'd be happy..."

"I know, but it's just... you went from hating him to being BFFs with him in no time, it kinda weirds me out. I get that you miss Weiss, but you should get friends your age, not creepy old men."

"Hey, Roman's not creepy! Okay, yeah, he totally is, but he's nice, underneath all that cold bad-boy-who-doesn't-care-about-anyone appearance. Besides, our teammates are gone, Jaune, Ren and Nora went to Mistral, it's not like I have many people available, unless you want me to become friends with Cardin..."

"Dear Oum, no. Fine, you can go. But one of these days we're gonna need to have a serious talk about your tsundere fetish." Yang released her, and the red-hooded stormed out of the room, pretending to not have heard that last remark.

She cleared her head of her sister's antics, and ran to the city, wondering what Torchwick had planned for that day. He had summoned her with a message saying it was an emergency, she just hoped it wasn't trouble.

* * *

The mastermind was standing by in the sidewalk, twirling his cane in his hand. He looked at the passersby and tried to imagine what would happen if he shot one of them with the Melodic Cudgel, turning the non-aura-trained jogger into tiny little pieces on the pavement. It would probably be very fun, seeing the faces of fear of everyone around, but the amusement would be short-lived by police appearing and going after him. He decided not to, he was trying to go clean after all, now that he was free from Cinder's influence, apart from petty theft, of course, just to keep the old muscles from losing practice. Besides, the person he was expecting would've never forgiven him for cold-blooded murder, and he wanted to bring to her attention something of the utmost importance, so spoiling the mood was out of question.

As if thinking of the devil, he heard his name being called from the other side of the street. Locating the huntress, he made up his mind while waiting for her to cross over. He had to tell her how he felt.

"Hey, I'm here, what did you want that was so urgent?" She greeted him casually, curious about the reason of their date.

"I think there's something we need to talk about."

"Is anything wrong?" She immediately switched to a worried look, reacting to his odd tone of voice.

"Yeah, actually, it's... that thing you're wearing."

"Huh? Is there a problem with how I'm dressed?"

"Not if you're cosplaying in a weird comic-book convention, but otherwise yes. It's all wrong, the colors and the pieces, ugh, I can't believe you put that on every morning." It felt good to get it off his chest, it had been bothering him for so long. That girl was a fashion trainwreck, she desperately needed a mentor in the ways of style. Luckily, he was more than willing.

But the sniper wasn't taking it as well as he hoped. She was silent, but had an utterly offended look in her silver eyes. Realizing he had been too harsh, he tried to quickly fix his mistake.

"Look, that may have been too far. I just think you could use a makeover, so come on, I'm taking you shopping."

"Okay, but you're paying." She recovered almost too quickly, and a wicked smile crept on her lips. Torchwick figured out she had no real intention of wearing anything he got her, and would just use the trip to milk him dry as payback for his cruelty. She sure was a fast learner on how to be a crook. But maybe some of his lessons would hammer into her head, making it all worth it.

He dragged her through the mall, looking for a shop that fit his tastes. The damned contemporary youth only wanted ripped jeans and hoodies, it was sickening. When the criminal overlord located one to his liking, even if not to the level of his personal tailor (but he doubted Ruby would be ready for that), they walked in and started browsing through the selection of items. Recalling his prior failure at tact, Torchwick opted for a more diplomatic approach.

"So, let's talk about that cape." The huntress immediately gave him an angry look

"Nu-huh, the cape stays. It was a gift from my mother. I'm not throwing it away."

The ginger took the hint and didn't press further. He knew nothing about her family apart from Yang, but the determined tone highly implied there was a strong emotional connection with the cloak. He could certainly understand having complicated attachments to accessories, his new hat looked just like the previous one, but it _wasn't_ the same.

"Hum, that makes things harder. I doubt I can convince you to trade that skirt for something more practical, right?"

"Absolutely, combat skirts are extremely convenient in battle situations." He failed to see how, but decided to keep quiet.

He ran his fingers through the clothes' rack, seeking something that could band-aid the outfit, so to speak. After a few seconds, he located something that was perfect. Well, _almost_ perfect.

"Hey, I need to check something with the store clerk, I'll be right back."

The silver-eyed girl nodded without turning, transfixed in the sight of a hideous pair of boots. Roman cringed as he walked away, affected by the youngster's complete lack of fashion sense. It wasn't long before an employee came into view, a graying old man with squinted eyes.

"Excuse me, do you happen to have this in red?"

"I'm sure we do, sir. May I ask, is it for your daughter? She quite the adorable little girl."

 _Why not?_ "Yes, my daughter. A real troublemaker, that one. Keeps finding the cookie jar, no matter how well I hide it."

The shopkeeper laughed, and managed to find the desired article. The ginger thanked him, and shuddered while leaving, nauseated by the cordial exchange. He missed the White Fang, at least _those animals_ knew their place and didn't ask stupid questions.

"So, what do you think?" He approached the girl, and held in his hand the piece he hoped she would wear. It was a blood-red blazer, with slight black highlights on the color. If he couldn't tamper with her current outfit and color scheme, at least that would improve upon them.

There was brief sparkle in Ruby's eyes, gone as fast as it came, but implying she liked it. The student grabbed it and went to the changing rooms. When she came out, she looked like a different person.

The jacket aged her at least another 2 years, giving her a more refined look that a 16-year-old couldn't dream to achieve. It was too large on the sleeves, but it actually fit her nicely. She smiled at his approving expression, and did a small twirl to properly display the combination.

"I think that works very well, do you like it?"

"I do. Maybe your style tips aren't so bad after all!" She shot him a wide grin, despite the obvious slander.

"Good, now let's talk shoes."

* * *

The trip had been long and expensive, but rather fruitful. They were sitting at a restaurant table, finishing their meeting with lunch, surrounded by bags. Torchwick's feet ached, but his spirits were high from having a new pupil to who he could pass his legacy of fine style.

"So, Red, is there someone special in your life?" He tried to make conversation, but was met with a skeptical glare.

"Really, Roman? Are we buddies now or something?"

"Oh come on, I'm trying here. And I just spent a thousand lien on you, the least you could do is throw me a bone. So tell me, who are you under that hood?" Ruby didn't argue, looking defeated. She stared longingly at the floor before answering.

"There was... were, in fact. Two girls, but they're gone now."

 _Are all girls that age lesbians? Is that even statistically possible? Or did I just stumble into a nest of them by coincidence?_ He brushed off the questions in his mind, and demanded more information.

"Two? I hadn't realized you were such a lady killer. What happened? Did they find out about each other? Because I've been there, and let me tell you it's not pleasant."

"No, nothing really ever happened with either. One of them was Penny. She was sweet, kind and funny... but she died in the tournament because of Cinder." There was bitterness dripping from her words, grief that she still hadn't been able to properly process.

"Oh yeah, the..." He stopped himself just before saying _robot girl_ , knowing that could've come off as mean. "...I heard about that, I'm sorry. What about the other one?"

"Weiss..." The man nearly spat his drink.

"The Ice Queen?"

"She's not like that! She's caring and nice under that cold attitude, it just takes a while to get used to it. But it doesn't matter anymore, her father took her back to Atlas. I'm never seeing her again."

Torchwick stroked his chin, considering what the girl had said. Then, he had a brilliant idea.

"I think I know exactly what you need. You, little miss, need to get your gal back."

"What are you saying?" She appeared confused, both by his attitude and suggestion.

"I'm saying pack your things, because we're going to Atlas."

* * *

 **In case you didn't notice, fashion isn't really my strong suit. I could totally use a mentor like dear-old Roman. Sorry if it wasn't very coherent.**

 **I remain open to suggestions. One person already supplied a good one that I'm giving a shot, hopefully it will work out. It's hard to write Baked Alaska without making it smut. And no, I'm not going to make smut, don't even ask.**

 **And as always, fell free to yell at me in the reviews, or give any form of constructive criticism. See you next time.**


	4. Two Girls

**To the people who were worried: no, this is not going to turn into a WhiteRose fic. The focus is still on Roman and Ruby's relationship, I just never said it would be romantic. Dat age gap...**

 **With that said, Roman is not as present in this chapter, but there's a very good reason. For now, let's take a trip to a very special ship...**

* * *

 **4\. Two Girls**

It was just after nightfall when the shady-looking airship landed in atlesian soil. It was a small vehicle, with little more than room for two, a pilot and a co-pilot. It had clearly been modified to allow long distance travel, as diminutive models like that one weren't normally outfitted for such, and Roman had piloted it himself. When Ruby asked how he'd learned how to fly, remembering that he'd done the same on their very first run-in, he merely explained that mastering many skills meant you could never be cornered and out of options. Apparently, the man was able to drive just about any vehicle, in order to facilitate his escapes from the police.

Even if the mastermind was free to roam Vale without danger, Atlas was a militarized society, so they had to be more careful. The duo was forced to avoid mainstream transportation, since Torchwick was sure to be on every no-flight list possible. The huntress might have mostly forgiven him, knowing he had been under threat from Cinder, but the army wasn't so lenient with what was probably the Undesirable n°1.

Still it was surprisingly easy to get in and move near the Schnee Mansion. Even with the mobster pulling the strings, Ruby was finding it all a tad bit suspicious.

They snuck over the tall fences and through the patrolling guards. That place sure had a lot of security, but nothing that could rival a good speed-based semblance. Her heart was thumping in her chest, and adrenaline-filled blood rushed incessantly through her veins, excited by the illicit activities they were performing, and the prospect of seeing her beloved again. She could almost imagine Weiss' reaction when they saw each other again, she would no doubt fall to her knees and kiss her through tears of joy. Not that they'd ever kissed before, or had been anything more than close friends, but such a romantic gesture would be sure to melt the heiress' heart and bring the buried feelings of affection to surface.

Reaching the outer wall where the Ice Queen's room should be, according to the schematics they'd 'legitimately acquired', Roman used his cane as a grappling hook to slowly climb to the top. The window they sought was at the very top, like a princess trapped at the top of the tower. The sniper could bear to wait no longer, yearning to be the charming prince, and propelled herself upwards, the goal in sight within a flash. She fumbled with the lock, trying to jam it open, when she heard two feminine voices coming from inside.

"We should go to Vale." Said the first with a melodic and innocent tone that seemed familiar, but the red-hooded speedster couldn't quite place due to being muffled by the glass.

"What for?" The second one was soft and high-pitched, and she guessed it would be her target, though it was hard to be sure.

"We need to tell her, Weiss." Ah, so she was right, it was her. With a hum of satisfaction, she unlocked the opening, and carefully stepped inside, protected from detection by a sophisticated white curtain.

"I'm just not sure it's the right time."

Ruby peeked, trying to establish if it was safe to make her presence known, but instead saw something truly unexpected.

On the other side of the room was a large bed, and on top of it lied two figures. One with ivory hair cascading through her shoulders, facing up, her icy blue eyes staring at the ceiling. The other had her ginger head nestled on the first one's bare shoulder, and lied sideways, with an arm stretched around her bedmate. It was an endearing view, the two girls quietly snuggling, but Ruby could barely process what was in front of her.

"Weiss? Penny?" Her voice faltered as she spoke, trying to make sense of the whole thing.

The two girls jumped up, and looked frightened at the intruder, before screaming in unison.

"RUBY?"

There was no doubt, it was really them.

In bed.

With each other.

Cuddling.

The silver-eyed huntress fainted.

* * *

When her senses returned, she was lying down on the cold marble floor. Ruby opened her eyes to find a pair of deep green irises staring worriedly at her. She gasped, pain and remembrance piercing through her insides, and reached one hand to the girl's face, trying to make sure it was real.

"Penny? Is that really you?" She touched the warm skin of her cheek, but her mind still found it hard to believe.

"Yes, it's me." The redhead gave her a kind smile, and grabbed her hand to further prove she was real.

"H... How?" Words struggled to leave her clenched throat, as the red-hooded huntress was fighting back the tears.

"Weiss pressured the army into rebuilding me. They didn't want to, after the fiasco of the tournament, but the will of a Schnee is a powerful thing, as it turns out." Penny turned her head with a fond smile, and Ruby followed the direction to find the heiress standing up, the rapier in her hand pinning Torchwick to the wall by the throat.

"Are you done over there? Can someone please explain to me what this scum is doing in my house?"

"Hey, hey, princess. No need to be rude."

"Shut your mouth before I call the police! I'm sure they'd love to have a word with you." Weiss was evidently on edge, her cold demeanor only enhanced by the unexplained circumstances.

"Actually..." The silver-eyed girl got up slowly. "...he's with me. Could you please let him go?"

"WHAT?" The Ice Queen made an unbelieving look, but lowered her weapon slightly.

"It's a long story. Just trust me, he's not evil anymore." Roman pouted at the statement with a sad expression. "Okay, okay, not 'as' evil anymore."

He smiled, now free from his captor, and dusted off his suit. Then he started walking back to the window.

"Well, you look like you have your hands full, Red, so I'll leave you to it. Have fun with catching up and the inevitable threesome."

Ruby rolled her eyes, and called out for him right as he was walking out of the opening.

"Hey, Roman? No stealing!"

"I'm insulted that you'd have that idea of me..." He feigned an offended look, but then opted for a different answer. "Not even a little?"

She gave him a stern glare, and he sighed in response.

"Fine, you're no fun." And he jumped out the window.

When she turned back and away from the glass contraption, she found two extremely confused, one more skeptical than the other, girls staring back.

"Like I said, really long story. More importantly, Penny's alive... and you two... and... whaaat?" Her mouth barely managed to spell out coherent words, too many questions bursting inside her head.

"I already told you how I got rebuilt, remember?"

"But your body was destroyed, how did they rebuild from that? I mean you look exactly the same!" The same except for her clothes that had been traded for a pale blue robe. The color screamed Weiss, and the tiny white sigil over the breast indicated that it truly was Schnee property. In fact, the heiress, who spoke next, donned a matching one.

"Father made sure we picked the remains before departing. It was atlesian technology after all, funded by the SDC." At that point she was interrupted by the overeager ginger.

"That's right, Weiss owns me!"

"No, I do not. And please don't say it like that, it sounds... Anyway, there was a spare, and they could scrape most of her core matrix from the body. She still has her memories and personality, just not her Aura. It was tied to the soul, and that was beyond recovery, so she can't fight or use her semblance."

"Now I'm just a normal useless robot." Penny intervened, maintaining her trademark smile despite the depressing sentence she'd just uttered.

"No, you're not. Don't say such foolish things, you'll embarrass us both." The blue-eyed girl reprimanded, and Ruby suppressed a giggle. That was Weiss alright, and it surely was nice not to be on the receiving end of the scolding.

She was thoroughly enjoying listening to those two bickering at one another. They really did look like a couple, and even if she had never pictured it like that, the two women she loved together, she couldn't deny it was unbelievably hot.

"Speaking of 'you both', when I walked in you looked very intimate. How did that happen?" The sniper was surprised at herself for being able to say all that without stuttering. It was an embarrassing topic, and thus deserving of a mental pat on the back.

"Well, it gets kinda lonely here..." The Ice Queen began what appeared like a long and rehearsed speech, but never got to the finish it.

"She missed you." Penny cut in, with an absurd grin on her face, receiving a fuming glare from the ivory girl. "What, are you gonna say it's not true?"

When there was no answer, she took as a sign to proceed.

"I missed you too. We spent a lot of time reminiscing about Beacon, about y-" She received an elbow to the ribs, preventing her from reaching the end of the thought.

"Penny's been trying to talk me into going to Vale for a while now, to see you and tell you that she's okay, about us, everything. I just... without CCT we can't communicate overseas, we didn't know what'd we'd find if we went there. I didn't even know if you were alive, when Father came for me you were in a coma."

"It's okay, Weiss, I understand. And I don't blame you for not coming sooner." Ruby made a forgiving smile, yet apparently it wasn't enough.

"But you even came yourself, I should've done the same."

"Well actually... this was… supposed to be a grand romantic gesture to win you over." The scythe-wielder scratched the back of her head, trying to hide her embarrassment. It didn't work, and she felt her cheeks turn bright red.

"You dolt! Of course you wouldn't come because you missed me, you just had to have an ulterior motive." Weiss punched her in the arm to display disappointment. It worked, her muscle was now so filled with disappointment it started to ache.

"What about Blake, heard anything from her?" The heiress asked, hoping to find the team reunited during her absence.

"No, she just vanished during the battle. Actually, I think you were the last to see her." Speaking of Yang's former partner was a difficult topic, they knew nothing about what had become of her.

There was a silence in the room, now that the youngster's biggest questions had been satiated. Penny, who had been quiet for a while, was the one to break it.

"So, what's a threesome? I searched in my memory banks, but there's nothing."

Ruby and Weiss traded flustered glances, trying to decide which one would have the undesired task of explaining it to the android. In the end, it fell upon the white-haired woman, for being older and clearly more 'familiar' with the bot.

"Huh, it's when three people have intercourse together."

The ginger took a bit to process, but then her green eyes widened and sparkled.

"That sounds like fun!"

* * *

 **You thought Penny wasn't going to be in this story? You were wrong.**

 **Shoutout to the reviewers who suggested a Weissnapping and Penny randomly showing up and having a fight with Weiss over Ruby's affection. I loved those ideas, I even considered trashing this chapter just to make them happen. But in the end I got lazy and decided to stick with what I had already written (also Refrigerator is really cute). And kidnapping Weiss would make her a regular in the story, and that's not in the plan.**

 **What was Torchwick doing this whole time? Maybe you'll find out next chapter. It's a very special one...**


	5. Lustful Spark

**No, I will NOT make a threesome chapter. I know I asked for suggestions, but I draw the line at smut. However silly this fic may be, I won't write smut.**

 **Now that we have that cleared, please enjoy the smuttiest chapter I've ever written. Oh don't judge me, it's _technically_ not porn.**

* * *

 **5\. Lustful Spark**

Yang woke up with the sunlight pouring through the window. The room was quiet, so she deduced it was still early in the morning and decided to stay in bed, not wanting to awake her teammates. Without opening her eyes, she grabbed the person next to her tighter. It had been a long time since she had felt Blake nuzzled against her like that, it was equally comforting and nostalgic.

Wait... It wasn't her old partner... Blake was missing. It also wasn't their dorm back at Beacon, the school was still overrun by Grimm. That's right, she was at Neo's, and the ice cream girl was the one resting under her arm.

Yang got up, trying not to disturb her partner's sleep. She walked to the bathroom, needing a bath for more than one reason. But not before she took a mental picture of the slumbering figure. She had a smoking hot girlfriend now, why was she thinking about her ex? All of that would wash away with a hot shower.

 _It's like a regular shower but with me in it._ She nodded, congratulating herself for a good joke. She would tell it to her sister later, just to see the sniper groan in discontent. Their unsatisfied responses at any puns was like sniffing Dust to the blonde.

She turned the faucet on, and as promised all worries and stray thoughts were flushed through the drain. The stream of water was hugging her body in all the right places, and her mind drifted to the petite still in her room, and all the dirty things she suddenly felt like doing to her. It would have to wait, postponed by the long ritual of washing her hair, and all the many products she had to use for it, but that did nothing to quell her need. It was excessive to be thinking that much about sex, even for her, but for some reason the brawler was feeling unbearably horny.

When the shower was done Yang was on edge, and didn't even think of getting dressed. Activating her semblance to dry herself off, she merely wrapped a towel over her breasts, in the most suggestible and removable way possible, and moved back to the bedroom.

Yet, to her dismay, she found the bed empty. There was only a small note on top of the sheets that read "Come to the kitchen." The brawler tried not to think too much about how Neo had gotten such a dripping dark red ink to write with, instead focusing on the reason for the message. She could think of only one thing.

Her suspicions were confirmed by the pile of discarded clothes that traced a path through the hallway and into the slightly open door. Yang tried not to run, since it would ruin the mood, and walked as evenly as she could, before pushing the entrance open. Inside she found... nothing.

No naked woman waiting inside, no further notes with instructions. She approached the table, and no one pushed her against it, offering her some much desired tough loving, her lover's specialty. Instead, there was a single rose petal on top. That wasn't Neo's, she would never do something as cheeky. There was only one person who would dare it, and that was the number she quickly dialed next.

The call went straight to voicemail, indicating that her sister was still not back from her romantic escapade. At least it meant she wasn't involved, as long range communications weren't available.

Suddenly, the scroll in her hand jumped with a message signal, and she barely manage to catch it before hitting the floor. Smashing the unlock command, she found a media file that once open produced a clip of her girlfriend sitting inside a cold and emotionless grey room. There were no signs of injuries or any other form of harm, in fact the multicolored girl looked just mildly upset by the predicament. Then the screen turned black, and a new text arrived.

"Use the number underneath to talk to her."

Yang did as she was told, and hurriedly sent a short missive to the indicated number.

"It's Yang. Are you okay? Where are you?"

A few seconds back the scroll buzzed, and a response came in.

"No idea. No windows. Can hear seagulls in the distance."

 _The docks!_ The brawler wrote "Coming to get you" and started running out of the apartment. As she was on the last set of stairs, the scrolled vibrated again, and she retrieved it from her pocket without stopping. It soon proved to be a grave mistake, as the contents inside threw her so off guard that she failed to see the glass door ahead, bumping face first into it.

As she got up from the floor, aura already countering the soft pain of impact, she glanced to check if her eyes hadn't betrayed her. There was a short message.

"Come fast. Getting bored."

Under the words was a photo sent by the girl, wearing significantly less clothing than in the video. She had a wicked smile, inviting the blonde to join her. And oh did she want to, there was something so raw and primal about that partial-nudity, a purposefully composed shot to drive Yang insane, and the girl knew just what to show and hide in order to do it. The flaming desire inside her surfaced again, and the brawler struggled to concentrate on the task at hand. Whatever game was being playing by the kidnapper, Neo was apparently willing to help.

She got on top of her motorcycle and rode it through the morning traffic in a flash, the thrill of the speed almost, but not quite, drowning her wish to ride something else. Not that the rumbling machine under her legs was helping at all.

With the docks in view, Yang parked her vehicle and checked her scroll for the message that had arrived during the trip. There was a new picture, with even less clothing, and the words 'Tick Tack' underneath. Ugh, why was she so intent on teasing that day?

The brawler blazed through the area, seeking a building that could house a prison cell like the one her girlfriend was in. Stores, cafes, nothing that would usually have grey windowless cubicles. Until...

Her feet stopped moving as her eyes fell upon the inconspicuous shop ahead. _The Passion of Reading_. A bookstore, but not one that sold adventure or romance novels. It was evident just from the small door, it was an adult bookstore. Yang had been to one before, and they were known for renting little rooms in the back for all manner of depraved activities. It had to be the right place.

Before she walked in, there was another buzz inside her pocket, and surely enough she had received yet another photograph, in tune with the growing nakedness of the previous ones. The blonde considered for a second holding off on the rescue, just to see where the pictures would go next, but she shook away the thought, feeling ashamed of her own raging libido.

Yang strolled through the shop, paying no mind to the many shelves packed with unsavory books and movies. She located the back, and quickly headed there, but was blocked off by the old grey-haired employee in charge.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a girl." She was running out of patience, and the blunt response failed to properly explain the situation.

"I'm sorry, we're not that kind of establishment..."

"No, a particular girl. Short, pink and brown hair, real-freakin' cute, seen her?"

"Ah yes, you must be Miss Xiao Long. I was told to expect you. She's in room 9."

"Thanks." She started to pace away to the small corridor, but something he said gnawed at her mind, and she turned around to ask. "Wait, who told you that?"

"A tall man dressed in black, with red sunglasses. He didn't say his name."

 _A... what?_ Well, it didn't really matter, she had found Neo. And at least her sister was saying the truth about not being involved.

She ran, finding the door with a little 9 in it. She opened the door, and was met with the alluring sight of her girlfriend lying on her side, waiting. Propelling herself forward, they embraced, and kissed. Her hands started to caress the fine curves of her lover's body, and words came out between rugged breaths.

"You... do not... get... to tease... me... like that." Yang could wait no longer, the overbearing need to passionately take the one in front of her dulling all logical thinking.

But then, there was a knock on the door. When they tried to ignore it, it only grew more persistent.

"Little busy here!"

"Ma'am? I'm sorry, your time has run out." The voice came from the other side, the familiar sound of the shopkeeper.

"WHAT?"

"The room was rented for the hour, and it's already over. If you could leave, we have other customers waiting."

Yang could not believe how unlucky she was, and groaned in discontent as the clothes were put back on. Neo followed her out, both of them failing to notice the couple outside, a tall man and a brown-haired faunus girl, who were no doubt waiting for their turn. They made their way back to the bike, and the ice-cream murderer climbed on, grabbing her girlfriend by the waist.

"Hang on tight, 'cause when we get home I'm gonna yang you till you pass out."

Neo smiled fondly against her back, and there was no way for the brawler to know she had other plans in store.

* * *

The flashy motorcycle was hastily parked out back, and the front door slammed open with such vigor that it almost came off its hinges. Neither of them saw the man in a black suit and red shades sitting across the street, too absorbed in their lust that drove them up the stairs faster than Nora in an All-you-can-eat Pancake Buffett. Yang fumbled with the keys, desperately trying to unlock the apartment while very distracting hands roamed her body. Neo certainly wasn't one for being discreet in public, but in the safety of indoors she wasn't at all going to hold back, particularly when her partner was so eager.

When the lock gave in at long last, they went inside and the blonde felt a hand grab hold of her. It would seem the bi-colored girl was still feeling playful, as her face and chest were pressed against the kitchen table, a display of dominance they were both not only accustomed to, but thoroughly enjoyed. Yet this time, there was something less than ideal about it.

"What the... Babe, stop! Hum, safeword. SAFEWORD!"

Neo begrudgingly quit her play, getting off the girl and allowing her to get up. But she didn't.

"There's something sticky all over the table. Wait, is this glue? Crap!" She struggled against the wooden surface, to no avail. "I'm glued to the table, oh wonderful. Stop taking pictures and help me, damnit!"

The dessert sociopath giggled as she put down the scroll, and tried to yank her lover out. The paste must've been Dust infused, because the girl didn't budge an inch. Finally, Yang gave up.

"Neo, honey, how attached are you to this table?" _Not as much as me right now, I bet._

She shrugged, and the brawler took it as permission to do what she did best: destroy. A few seconds and one fiery semblance-activation later, the piece of furniture was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

"I'll get you a new one, don't worry. Ugh, I'm still all gooey. I gotta go take a shower." Before the words came out of her mouth, she realized what the fun-sized girl was about to suggest. "And no, you can't join me. That's what you get for taking photos instead of helping me."

As a response she received a pout that seemed to say 'But you promised.' It was hard to argue with such a cute face, but she wasn't too firm about it regardless. The glue had undoubtedly been a turn off, but it hadn't managed to completely extinguish the flames of her desire.

The couple moved over to the bathroom, only to find that there was no water. Not only that, but in the bedroom the bed was missing. Someone had clearly been inside the house, and whoever it was didn't want them doing anything sinful.

"We should call the.." Neo shook her head vigorously. "Oh that's right, no police. Then what do we do?"

The ice cream maniac suggested calling her partner-in-crime, but he was out of range as well. Neo helped clean her as best they could with bathroom supplies, while they brainstormed for feasible plans. There were little to no leads to seek, and all the people they would normally go to for assistance were away one way or another.

The blonde sat on the floor, feeling hopeless. The adult bookstore had probably just been a set up to bait her out of the house, and she'd fallen for it. They had played her like a damn fiddle. And worst of all, she didn't know who was behind it, so she had no one to punch senseless. If there was thing she couldn't stand was powerlessness, the inability to control her own fate. She was a woman of action, and there was nothing she could do.

The little serial killer took note of her sullen state and wrapped her arms around her, head buried in her voluptuous bosom. Neo's height could be a hindrance sometimes, but it placed her right at the level of where it mattered. It was a sweet gesture, consoling her girlfriend, but geographic positioning quickly made it turn into a lustful spark.

Yang felt her previous state of need return, and pulled her up for a kiss, despite gasping for breath due to the steaming action happening at her chest. If there was something those two excelled at, it was finding passion in any situation.

Yet it could also be the bane of their existence, love interrupted by the sound of a doorbell. At first they ignored it, too engrossed by touch, but the noise persisted, forcing them to get up and look presentable. The dragon girl was the one, as she always was, to open the door.

"Good evening, ma'am. Do you have a minute to talk about the word of Our Lord and Savior Kevin?" There was an eager looking man outside, suit and tie complete with a briefcase, hair combed back and a jovial smile.

"The... who?"

"Our great foretold Messiah, the Dragon in the tower!"

"You worship the... Wait, you gave it a name? What kind of lunatic names a Grimm Kevin?"

"There's no need to be disrespectf-" He was cut off by a very impatient blonde.

"You know what? I don't even wanna know. We're not interested. Goodbye." She slammed the door on his face, disappointed that the wooden barrier didn't actually hit him.

 _Our Lord and Savior Kevin, what a bunch of morons._

"So, where were we?"

Receiving a sly inviting smirk back, she began once more the affectionate ministrations. And once more, they were soon interrupted by the doorbell. Her insides screamed in dissatisfaction from being denied release. She swore to herself that if she found the dragon-maniac on the other side, she would deck him in his perfect smiling teeth.

He was, however, not the one standing by the entrance. A different man, in large blue overalls and sporting a thick black mustache.

"Good afternoon. We were called about a bug infestation in this-" He was interrupted by the sound of the blonde woman laughing in a quite insane fashion, making his blood chill. The terror in his face only deepened when she looked at him head on, her eyes turned bright red.

"I don't know who put you up to this, but you're going to walk away slowly before I lose it and paint the hall with your face."

Then guest failed colossally at the assigned task, instead turning tail and running like his life depended on it. There might have even been a panicked cry from him, but Yang was too busy fighting the urge to smash to notice it. To soothe her anger, she punched the wall next to the door, crushing the doorbell to little pieces.

"There, now no one can disturb us." Her irises were still filled with bloodlust, and the petite sociopath faced her with a strange glare. "WHAT?"

Neo said nothing, pointing at the closed doorway. In her fiery state, the brawler failed to discern if she was complaining about the destroyed electronic or applauding how she had violently handled the undesirable presence. It didn't matter anymore, she wanted to hear none of it.

"Oh shut up and get naked! I'm done waiting."

She took her lover and ravaged her until long after night had fallen. It was clumsy and animalistic, especially without a bed to do it on, but neither of them cared. They had spent the entire day building up to it, and nothing would be able to keep them apart. In the misty cloud of pleasure, Yang screamed her girlfriend's name, so all could hear who her heart belonged to.

* * *

"Do you hear something?"

"Oh please, now besides special eyes you have special ears too? Stop showing off, Red, we're still pretty far from Vale, there's nothing out here for miles."

Ruby looked longingly through the airship window, no longer able to see the kingdom of Atlas in the distance.

"Too bad they couldn't come with." Roman tried some comforting words, knowing she wasn't happy to be torn apart from the two girls.

"It was for the best, I guess. Just imagine what Weiss would've done when she found out what you did to Ironwood's house." The huntress gave him a teasing smile, recounting how they'd left in a hurry, chased by a squad of military androids.

"Hey, he needed a redecoration! And red ink really brightened up the place, if you ask me."

"Sure but did you need to use it to write huge-ass letters spelling 'General Tiny-wood'?"

"I like to keep it classy." He contained his laughter, trying to maintain the façade of a cool and composed man.

"Speaking of which, how do you think your plan worked?"

"It went flawlessly, of course, who do you take me for? Unless your sister ripped the doorbell off the wall, people will just keep on showing up to interrupt them." They shared a victorious smile, anxious to reap the seeds of their vengeance. Torchwick had set a plan in motion during their trip, and the results should be evident upon return. The flight overseas had been to reunite the speedster with her love, but it also created the perfect alibi for any and all mischievous plotting.

"I don't really get why you're so confident. And how did you know where they would be?"

"I'm confident because, while you didn't consider the Blondie's libido, I planned entirely around it. And I had men follow them everywhere, Junior still owed me one. I'm not an amateur, darling, this is what I do."

"The rose petal was a really good touch. Although kidnapping Neo might've been a little too far, don't you think?"

"Says the one who drugged her own sister. Neo's kinda used to it, we ran into some very unsavory people back in the day."

"Oh..." Ruby didn't know how to react, it was a surprisingly heavy piece of information he had just dropped.

"Cheer up, Red. We won. Revel in victory while it lasts, because I'm not sure we'll survive long after those two realize we're the ones behind it."

"Neo and Yang both trying to kill us?" She shuddered visibly. "Well, it was nice knowing you, Roman."

"You too."

* * *

 **I'm sorry.**

 **This was so painful to write.  
**

 **If you have any NON-SMUT requests, now is the time. I'm probably going to stop posting for a week or so, because I'm kinda out of ideas. The only thing I currently have planned is a 3 chapter arc that will finish the story, so I'll give this some time to make sure there's nothing else.**

 **As always, your opinions are very much welcome, now more than ever.**


	6. Fight your Fears

**I DID IT.** **I WROTE A THREESOME.**

 **...it might not be what you hoped for, though. Before you start reading, I'd like to say I'm sorry. I really am.**

* * *

 **6\. Fight yout Fears**

"Now, why don't we show you just how much we missed you?" Ruby was rendered speechless by the sultry tone that had just come out of the android's mouth, dumbstruck that her seemingly innocent friend would be able to sound so seductive. Not that she'd want to complain, paradise couldn't even try to compare with what was about to happen.

Penny took a step forward, and raised a hand to play with the sniper's dark hair, twirling it between her fingers. Their faces slowly inched closer, and Ruby closed her eyes, bracing for the kiss she had fantasized so much about. She could feel the girl's body nearer, the synthetic pine-scented breath bridging the gap between them, but no contact was made. Instead, she heard a low voice whispered in her ear.

"But first, you have to choose which one of us you want..." Her eyelids slammed open, and her speeding heart sunk to the floor.

*No... No, no, no! I can't! Don't make me choose!*

As the ginger moved away from her, she took in the two girls in front of her. Weiss was further apart from them, although not too much, arms crossed over her chest, and her blue irises glancing sideways at the floor, refusing to look either of them directly. Her face donned a frown, but the intense blush in her cheeks betrayed that she was not angry, but adorably embarrassed.

On the other hand, Penny was just standing gleefully, her signature smile plastered on her lips. Her pale blue robe was slightly open at the center, revealing too much and yet not enough. It was beyond alluring, and nothing short of torture. Just were had she learned to be that glamorous, Ruby had no way of knowing. But she had to admit, the change in character from the clueless and awkward droid was cute to the point of driving her insane.

Her gaze switched between one and the other, her mouth unable to form a coherent noise. The bot picked up on her indecision, and stripped her of choice.

"Just kidding. How about both?" Her arms stretched forward, and pushed the scythe-wielder on top of the mattress. It was quite comfortable, the silky sheets under her back, but her attention was too focused elsewhere.

The heiress still hadn't moved, and the redhead addressed her next.

"Weiss? Come on, you promised."

Only then did the ivory-haired girl seem to awaken, and she walked to the bed, climbing it before leaning in and kissing Ruby.

The sensations exploded within her, and she jumped up, her arms grasping the back of her lover's neck. The smell of her hair, the taste of her lips, there was nothing she would've changed about that magical moment. That is, until the Ice Queen's tongue poked at her mouth, politely asking for permission to enter. She hesitantly allowed it, unsure of how it would affect the kiss, but soon she was eased into it, as Weiss guided her through the process. It only made their connection stronger, but the moment began to fade as her breath was running out quickly.

She lightly tapped the other on the shoulder, asking for a time out, and a small trail of saliva formed as their mouths parted. Ruby kept her grip on the fencer's neck, forbidding her from leaving, so she could stare at those beautiful blue eyes, despite the rapid thumping in her chest threatening to kill her at any moment. Her breath slowly returned, but her ability to speak coherently didn't.

"...wow." Was all she could muster.

"Shut up! It's not like I like you or anything, I'm just doing this for Penny." Weiss looked away again, and, even though she was making the world's most endearing pout, her cheeks returning to bright red.

The younger girl suddenly felt a cold breeze run through her skin, and she looked down to see that her corset was missing. Apparently, Penny hadn't been slacking, and the android smiled at her before roaming her hands through her now bare breasts. The sniper's moan was barely suppressed, and the ginger made a satisfied nod before resuming the process of undressing her.

Ruby tried to shift her concentration back to the heiress, who was looking hungrily at her bare skin, not wanting to leave the work entirely to the other girl.

"Really, Weiss? You don't like me even a little?"

"Well, maybe a little."

The red reaper took the moment for a victory kiss, forcing their lips back together. She really could not get enough of it. In the meantime, she felt her boots, tights and skirt being removed, leaving nothing but underwear.

Letting the white-haired girl go, she grabbed the robe on her shoulders, yanking it off. Weiss' naked body was insanely beautiful, her smooth white skin, her petite breasts, her well-defined curves. Ruby tried her best to memorize it all, so she could keep it forever in her memory. But before she could so much as touch it, the Ice Queen took the initiative, and directed her ministration to the pair of boobs she had been eagerly eyeing up.

Downstairs, Penny removed the final barrier, and moved in for the kill. The silver-eyed huntress was violently assaulted by the two girls' touches, and her throat released a primal groan of pure bliss. In response, a satisfied voice was heard from below.

"Do you like it when I do that, Red?"

"Oooh, yes, keep going, Roman."

...

 _Wait, what?_

 _ROMAN?_

Ruby jumped up, grabbing the sheets to cover herself. In front of her she saw that the two girls were gone, and in their place were two fully clothed men, both with the same hairstyle despite one of them maintaining Weiss' ivory color.

"How about when I do this?" The two figures spoke in unison, and each pulled out a knife from their jacket pockets.

She screamed as loud as she could.

She was still screaming when her brain registered that the nightmare was over. She was in her own bed, drenched in sweat and desperately gasping for air.

After what she'd just seen, Ruby felt too terrified to go back to sleep. In fact, she wasn't sure she'd want to sleep ever again.

* * *

Yang approached the door to their house, before realizing she needed a key to enter. It was her own house, but she had begun to spend most nights at her girlfriend's, in the passionate embrace of her arms. She rang the doorbell, hoping Ruby was well enough to answer. The worry for her sister had been the driving factor to the visit.

The entrance opened, and the blonde walked in to the disconcerting sight of a sickly girl firmly gripping a large cup of steaming black java. Horrible was the only way to describe the youngster's state, pale with bags under her eyes. Her back was arched, curled into a fragile little ball. She didn't welcome the newcomer, just trailed back to her seat and resumed sipping on her drink.

"Ruby? Are you okay? I'm worried about you. You haven't left the house in two days, and honestly you look like crap."

The girl looked up to face her for the first time. Her usually joyous silver irises were restless and weary.

"I'm just... tired."

"Are you having nightmares again?" Yang knew her sibling better than anyone, and she knew what afflictions she was more prone to. The sniper nodded feebly, confirming her suspicions. "Is it... is it about mom?"

Ruby shook her head. She had suffered from those for years, plagued at night to relive the day their mother had left never to come back, but that wasn't the current case. Something else was keeping her up.

"Then what it is?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine, I understand. But I'm here if you change your mind."

She got up and turned around, but a soft voice forced her back.

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you do about your fears?"

The brawler thought on the matter for a second before responding.

"Personally, if I can, I just beat the hell out of them. They say the best way to fight your fears is to face them head on, so that's what I do." She punctuated the speech by cracking her knuckles, complete with a cocky smile.

"Fight, huh? That might not be a bad idea. Thanks, sis."

The blonde bombshell leaned in and crushed the small huntress with one of her trademark bear hugs, feeling glad to have been able to help. The imprisonment only ended when Ruby was starting to go purple.

"You're not fighting anything in that state, though. C'mon, I'll draw you a bath."

* * *

"All right, I'm here, Red. What did you want?" The ginger mobster approached the table where she was sitting and grabbed a chair. She didn't face him, eyes glued to the cup in her hands, barely acknowledging his presence.

"I think we should stop seeing each other."

"What the hell... Are you seriously trying to break up with me? What on Remnant is this about?"

"I just feel like you're a bad influence on me." Her voice was monotonic and devoid of emotion.

"Did I do something to make you upset? What's with you all of a sudden? Talk to me, Red!"

"You really don't wanna make this easy on me, do you? Well. That leaves me only one option." Ruby got up from her seat and looked up for the first time during the conversation.

"'Make this easy'? Did you suddenly catch 'brooding protagonist'-itis? How about explaining to me what's w-"

His words were cut off, almost literally, by the blade of a scythe unleashed mere inches from his face. Before he knew how to react, the little girl threw herself at him with murderous intent. A couple of rushed dodges allowed Roman to remain unscathed, but she wasn't backing down. The spiked tip of the weapon hit him on the side, and the impact threw him off even thought he was shielded by his Aura.

"WHAT THE HELL?" The mobster gripped his cane defensively, trying to avoid being attacked any further. It was a blessing that the street was empty, it would've been an irreparable blow to his reputation if someone saw him losing to a tiny sixteen year-old.

Ruby activated her semblance, forcing him to guess where she would strike next. Waving Melodic Cudgel in the air, he did his best to parry any incoming blows from the red blur, but the unrelenting assault meant a couple of strikes managed to break through his protections, draining tidbits of his aura. On the other hand, the huntress kept going with everything she had, and the extended use of her speed would soon start to take its toll.

"RUBY STOP!" It was the first time he ever called her by the first name.

She complied, standing still on the opposite side of the road. Her scythe was still pointing menacingly his way, but he didn't care. It was a start.

"What's going on? Talk to me!"

"I need to do this, Roman. It's the only way I can overcome my fears."

"You're... afraid of me?" The realization hit him harder than any of her bullets ever could.

"I... you keep doing all these things for me, and being nice and... you were supposed to be evil! You were supposed to the villain, and if you're not then all that fighting we did... I wanted to be a huntress to fight evil, but I don't know what's right and wrong anymore."

She fell to her knees, exhaustion catching up with her muscles and mind. The ginger man rushed to her side, but couldn't catch her before she hit the ground.

"What if it was all a lie? What if you were tricking me all this time, and you just want to take advantage of me? What if you'll leave, just like..."

 _Just like mom._ The words died in her throat, but Torchwick didn't need to hear them to understand. It had never crossed his mind that there was a fragile person under that mask of strength and power, yet there she was, a little girl on the floor and at the verge of tears.

He wanted to console her, to tell her that he had changed and would never hurt her. But he knew that, being the source of the problem, he could never reach her by simply talking. So he picked the only approach possible.

"Hit me."

"What?" She looked up, meeting his eyes with doubt on her face.

"Isn't that what you came here to do? Hit me." She still wasn't convinced. "If you don't, I'm going to kick the next puppy I find. C'mon, I'm evil, hit me!"

Her hand moved feebly against his face, no force put behind the strike.

"Is that all you got? Hit me harder! I'll unleash Grimm on the city if you don't!"

She punched him. It almost hurt. She really needed to work on that right hook. Maybe he could get Neo to teach her, they were both small and thin, so it was a good match for fighting techniques.

"Keep going! I'm a monster! I'll destroy everything you love!"

Ruby punched him again, and again. Her strikes were erratic, and tears started rolling down her cheeks. After a while she was sobbing, and her clenched fists stopped moving, grabbing his shirt. With her head resting on his chest, wetting his shirt - his best shirt! - he held her in his arms until the storm of emotions ended. When her wails calmed down, she moved away from him and he looked down to see how she was doing.

"Better?"

She nodded, still too weak to speak properly.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Red. I'm not going to do anything to you."

"T-Thanks."

"Now c'mon, put a smile on that face. Oh, I know, I'll steal you something pretty!"

The sniper laughed. He really was irredeemable.

She wiped her tears dry, and got up on her feet. Maybe she was wrong about him, and he actually meant well. The pit in her stomach, that horrible feeling of uncertainty might never leave her, but she could now drown it with ease. And that was a victory.

Now, she could finally go back that one dream which had stopped right before the good part.


	7. Grimm Mask

**Since the last chapter was... well, 'that', I'll let you have this one sooner as an apology. :P  
**

 **We're now stepping into end game territory.**

* * *

 **7\. Grimm Mask**

"...it had dim lighting and handcuffs, it was totally romantic. Oh and kinky too, still can't believe little sis set it up!" Yang retold with enthusiasm the events of a few weeks back, the 'romantic date' she had no idea had been a failed attempt at payback.

"Sounds like a good time, maybe we should try it out, Nora." The dark-haired boy broke his quiet demeanor to evaluate the story, and his opinion left both girls pale with astonishment.

"Huh, Ren? I think she meant it in a sexual way..." Her voice came as a frail whisper, trying to be tactful about explaining the birds and bees to the ninja.

He said nothing, but instead shrugged as if he'd known all along, not the naive kid they made him out to be. There was a barely visible hint of a smirk there, clearly glad to have cracked his partner so easily. One of the advantages of being the silent type was that anything he said was just so much more impactful, be it solid advice or mindless trickery, something he had picked up from the redhead.

Nora giggled at her unusually playful friend, and the blonde who watched them broke down with curiosity.

"Okay, now you have to tell me what happened on your trip to Mistral. Are you two together-together now?"

The Queen of the Castle opened her mouth wide to answer, eyes gleaming with amusement, but Ren covered it with his hand.

"You know what they say, what happens in Mistral stays in Mistral."

"Oh wow that sounds naughty, I wonder what kind of freaky things you guys did over there."

"We went there to talk to Pyrrha's parents, and that's what we did." The ninja was still covering Nora's mouth, but he made a disgusted expression and removed it in a flash. "Nora! Did you have to lick me?"

"No, but you taste good." She made an innocent look, which only made Yang's fire of uncertainty burn brighter.

"Something happened, I'm sure of it. You'd be better spill fast or I'll get angry, and you know what I'm like when I get angry." But neither of them bought the bluff, so she reluctantly moved on. "Ugh, fine. Where's Jaune anyway?"

"He's in his room, resting. The trip was pretty hard on him, so he needs some time."

"Which reminds me, shouldn't you be _taking care of him_?" The ginger butt in violently, almost like she was trying to send her partner away.

"In a bit, I was hoping we'd still get to see Ruby."

"Oh good luck with that, she's home talking with her girlfriends. Weiss and Penny had to stay in Atlas, so she spends obnoxious amounts of time on the scroll, doing Oum-knows-what." Yang vented part of her frustration towards her sibling. First Roman, and then those two, she missed having sister-time like when they were kids.

"I thought communications with other kingdoms were cut-off because of the CCT tower?"

"They are, but, well, perks of dating the heiress to the Schnee Corp. They gave her some prototype gyzmo, it takes like an hour to set up and eats all our electrical grid, but that way they can keep in touch." Suddenly, her own portable device started buzzing wildly inside her pocket, and she removed it before answering. "Speak of the devil. Hey sis, what's up?"

"I need your help. It's Roman."

* * *

Upon opening the door to their house, she was met with the disconcerting sight of pure despair inside. Ruby was pacing around aimlessly through the room, overbearing worry guiding her step and seeping into her expression. Roman was drowning himself in liquor, sitting down with a half-empty bottle on his lap, not even bothering to pour it in a glass. Neo was kneeling by her partner's side, a hand on his arm trying to console him. If even the ice-cream girl was concerned, there truly was a problem in their hands.

"All right, I'm here. What's the matter?"

The red-hooded speedster stopped with the look of a deer on the headlights. She glanced at Torchwick, and then back at her sister, pressured into being the one to explain by the silence in the room.

"It's... the White Fang."

"They want me back." The smooth criminal removed his mouth from the bottle to speak, but put it back instantly once done.

"Can't you just say no?"

"Not that simple, sweetheart. Have you ever met their leader, Adam? He's not the kind of guy that takes no for an answer. I don't want to be pulled in again, Blondie. I thought I was finally out."

"So we fight!" Yang really wasn't grasping the depth of situation.

"That's... actually the best idea so far."

"I still think we could send a puppet dressed like you." Ruby tried to pass her plan through once more, but no one paid her any attention.

"I don't get the long faces. We have a clear enemy in front of us. We go in, punch them in the face, and get out."

"Of course you'd say that, but there's hundreds, if not thousands of them. We can't take out that many."

"So we go after their leader, the what's-his-name."

"Adam."

"Yeah, that. If we kick his ass, that'll send them a message that you're off-limits." The brawler was still as straight to the point as ever, the only one with high spirits amidst the darkness. She loved a good fight, and taking on a notorious terrorist leader was sure to be a delightful challenge.

"You'd really do that for me, Blondie?" Roman placed the booze down, and looked expectantly at her. His eyes appeared defiant, but she knew it wasn't personal, they were all on edge.

"Hell no!" Every face in the room turned dumbstruck to her. "But I'll do it for Neo. She cares about you, and that's all I need to know."

The mobster nodded in approval, and faced Ruby next, skipping over the little serial-killer who didn't even need to say anything. "Red?"

"You've been there for me before, of course I'm in. You're family." That answer hit him a lot harder than he'd expected, both the words and the earnest tone they were spoken in. _Family._ That's something he hadn't had in a long time.

"Roman, are you crying?"

"Of course not, don't be an idiot. It would ruin my eyeliner." His voice nearly betrayed the lie, but no one called him on it.

The four of them started to prepare for the upcoming mission, sharing an unspoken promise to never again mention the time a mastermind of the criminal underworld had lost his composure because of being called family.

* * *

The compound was engulfed in darkness. The sun was just beginning to dawn on the horizon, offering some light to counteract the White Fang's natural night vision. The four trespassers quietly reconvened at a safe distance, to report the results of their reconnaissance.

They had all switched to a darker palette on their uniforms. Ruby was wearing the exact same thing she always did, between black and blood-red she was more than camouflaged. Neo had the same outfit she had used at the Vytal Festival, looking like the most murderous doll in existence. Roman had a black tuxedo on, giving him the distinguished look of an old spy movie villain, ever overdressed for the occasion. Yang had struggled the most with the trend, large portion of her wardrobe was bright yellow and orange. Yet she was the one with the most appropriate apparel, a form-fitting pair of black cargo pants and matching sweater, from which she had ripped off the sleeves. On the head she had a dark beret to hide her long hair.

Ruby was the one commanding the troops.

"All right, here is the plan. Their security is not as tight in the east sector."

"Yeah, but Adam is on the opposite side of the facility." Torchwick interrupted her, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Doesn't matter. We just need an opening to get in. Once inside, I'll be covering you from a distance with Crescent Rose. Yang and Neo are the Horns..."

"Hehehe."

"Have something to say, Yang?"

"You just said we're horny." The blonde chuckled while receiving death stares from everyone else.

Ruby sighed loudly before continuing.

"Yang and Neo will be the- will be moving in from the sides to catch any patrols off guard. But remember, no fighting unless absolutely necessary. We need the element of surprise. And sis, for the love of Oum, no explosions."

"I make no promises."

"Good to see you're taking this seriously. What about me?" The mobster was still feeling very uncomfortable about the scheme.

"You're going in through the front door."

"WHAT?"

"You're the only one who can get us access! Just walk in and say you're here to report to Adam. They'll let you inside without a second thought. Probably."

"So I'm gonna be bait, Red? And I thought I was family."

"You're not bait! Well, technically yes, you are, but you'll be safe! I'll be scouting ahead with my sniper, and the two lovebirds will make sure you don't run into trouble."

"I don't know, this sounds pretty fishy..."

At that point, Yang cut them short, eager to get the meeting done and go punch something.

"Damnit Torchwick! You can either be bait or work for the White Fang. Make your choice."

"Ugh, fine. But I'd better not get any blood on this jacket. Especially not mine."

"All right, then we're set!" The scythe-wielder squealed with excitement. "Team Rhino, roll out!"

"...team what?"

"'Rhino. It's our names put together, like in Beacon? R - R - Y - N. Rhino!"

"Wow, you're even worse than Ozpin at this. I would've gone with Team Ryan."

"I'm with Blondie on this one. Or Team Rain, way better than whatever a Rhino is supposed to be. Also, to clarify, I'm the first R in that, right? Cause I clearly deserve to be team leader."

"Why are you fighting me on this? Just go, we have a mission to do!"

* * *

Inside the base, Ruby hurried over to the rooftop so she could get a bird's eye view of the area. Activating her semblance, climbing the wall was a breeze compared to the massive cliffsides and towers she had run up, not even needing glyphs to help. Once up there, she unleashed the weapon in gun form, and kneeled down at the edge, looking through the scope.

It was a large fenced off complex, with various industrial buildings. There were searchlights and patrolling guards across the entire length. Numerous vehicles, cars built for any terrain, were parked throughout, offering a faster route between each part of the base. At the furthest corner was a small administrative building, with windows unlike the surrounding ones. That was where they'd find the target. Luckily Roman had worked with the faunus closely enough to have that information, otherwise they'd be royally screwed.

She spotted her teammates sneaking past security, and the criminal mastermind being allowed in. Everything was going according to plan. She turned the sights to further along to look for stray White Fang members that could make their life harder.

Before she could find any danger, it found her instead.

She didn't notice the approaching presence until there was a blade to her throat. She slowly began to lower the gun, trying to come up with a way to escape. And then, the attacker spoke.

"Who are you and why are you here? Talk fast and maybe I'll decide not to slice you open."

Spoken against her ear, Ruby could've recognized that voice anywhere. But she wished she hadn't. She didn't want to believe.

"B- Blake?"

The sword was removed from her neck, and the other person stumbled a few steps back in shock. When the youngster turned around, she saw a woman dressed in all back, except for a white Grimm mask covering her face just below her dark cat ears, which were not hidden under the usual bow.

"Ruby?"

In the distance, there was a roaring sound of something exploding. Somewhere across the base the plan was going southways, and the speedster could do nothing to help them.

The dark-haired terrorist looked towards the source of the noise. She removed the mask, revealing golden eyes that shifted to stare back in panic at the girl in the red hood.

"And Yang too? You... No! You're not supposed to be here!"

* * *

 **Remember when I said there would be more canon divergences? Well, I wasn't just talking about Weiss and Penny.**


	8. Team-Attack

**8\. Team-Attack  
**

"Blake, what are you doing here? Where have you been? We looked everywhere for you!"

The faunus girl cringed at Ruby's words. She stumbled back some more, trying to create as much distance as possible between them on the limited space of the rooftop.

"You shouldn't be here! You need to go now! Take Yang, leave and never come back! Please!"

"What are you talking about, we just found you! And why are you dressed like a... wait, you didn't..." The red-hooded sniper was still finding it hard to process, it was just too much. It wasn't possible.

"I did what I had to protect you! Adam was going to kill you all, I couldn't let that happen! It was the only way!" The White Fang member was screaming, all the while fighting back the tears. All she had sacrificed for them was on the verge of collapse.

"Are you a hostage? Are they keeping you here by force? Then you can just come with us, and go back to Vale!"

"NO, I CAN'T! I came here because I wanted to, Ruby. No one made me." Despite all her best efforts, tears were now rolling down her cheeks. It was overwhelming, even for someone as composed as her.

"I- I don't understand..."

"I found Adam during the Battle of Beacon. We used to be partners and... more than that, but he became insane. He thinks that if he can't have me, no one can. He was going after everyone I love, which includes you, Weiss and Yang. So I left with him. It was the only option to keep you safe."

It was Ruby's turn to stumble in shock. When they had found no body, they assumed she had run away from the fight, and was holed somewhere safe, waiting for it all to blow over. There was no may the cat girl would simply go down without a fight. None of them had considered she could have joined the enemy, much less willingly.

"We can fight for ourselves! We can help you, Blake! We can get you out!"

"Damnit Ruby, no you can't! Tell me, when was the last time you saw Sun?"

"...Sun? He... went back to Mistral..."

"No, he didn't. He tracked me down and tried to break me out. I was forced to watch all the things Adam did to him until the very end. This is not a fairy tale, and people like me don't get a happy ending. I can't let anyone else be caught in the crossfire, especially not you. So if you won't leave by yourself..." Her hand slid the handle of Gambol Shroud away from its sheath. "...I'll just have to knock you out and carry you away."

The speedster gripped her own weapon while it extended into scythe form. She didn't want to fight her friend, but the black-clad ninja wasn't giving her much of a choice. Her brain was going through multiple possible outcomes trying to come up with a peaceful solution to the confrontation. And that concentration was the reason she nearly missed the dark blade flying her way.

She dodged it at the last second, the thrown sword slicing the air where her face used to be. It was a dangerous move, but Blake knew it wouldn't hit. She had, in fact, planned for it, and the next blow was delivered flawlessly.

Out of Ruby's line of sight, Gambol Shroud stopped its trajectory, yanked back by a pull of the ribbon, and fired. The spray of bullets struck the red-hooded on the neck right below the base of the skull. Her Aura shielded most of the damage, but not the pain it caused, blurring her vision for a few seconds.

Thrown off-balance, the scythe-wielder tried to brace for the impact that would surely come next. She could see a vague outline of her opponent closing in, but didn't realize it was a clone until she took a swift kick to the back of the leg, bringing her to her knees. Using the memento to roll forward, she felt the wind of another kick that had just missed her head. The White Fang member was going for vulnerable areas, but refrained from using the weapon too much, as her objective was to incapacitate, not kill.

Ruby's objective, on the other hand, quickly became running away. She hadn't kept her training in day, whereas the dark-haired faunus clearly had maintained in shape. She couldn't win that fight on her own, particularly against someone who knew her weaknesses so well. Luckily, she knew Blake's as well.

Getting up on the opposite end of the roof, just at the edge, she saw the ex-teammate on the other side picking up the sword at the tip of the ribbon, preparing another assault. It was the perfect moment for her plan.

"Blake, look, tuna!" She pointed energetically to the left, but the other girl didn't even bother to turn. She did, however, stop walking towards her.

"Really? Wow, you think I'm stupid AND you're racist." But that was the opening the speedster was seeking. "Wait, what are you..."

Before the faunus could finish, she spread her arms and dramatically threw herself off the building. In the time it took the raven-haired girl to reach it, she had already activated her semblance and run off elsewhere, successfully throwing off the chase.

She needed to reunite with the team, to check on the mission. It wasn't much effort, she just had to follow the explosion noises. Bringing her sister to a stealth and discretion mission had been a miscalculation from the start.

It wasn't long before she spotted in the distance the two girls fending off a horde of White Fang grunts. The lowly criminals were no match for two highly trained huntresses, but the sheer number managed to somewhat balance the fight.

Ruby turned into a whirlwind of petals, dragging the scythe along to slice through the barrage of cannon fodder. In no time she was shoulder to shoulder with her sibling and the Ice Cream Queen, before they even realized what had happened.

"Didn't I say no explosions? Damnit Yang, you had one job!"

"Ruby? What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to cover us?" Yang punched a faunus in the throat, sending him tumbling backwards through the asphalt. Other two jumped over his inert body, sparing no time in joining in the brawl.

"Yeah, well, change of plans. It's a long story. Where's Roman?" She pulled the trigger, propelling herself upwards, and then fired again, twirling down in a spiral of slicing doom. The unsuspecting terrorists below weren't fast enough to dodge.

"Hell if I know! My hands are kinda full here. Does our gracious leader have a plan?"

"Strawberry Sunrise!"

The blonde didn't need to hear anything more. She blasted her gauntlets at the ground, making the soldier in the way lose their footing. Taking the opportunity, she stretched both arms out and grappled two of them, pushing them behind her back.

Having two enemies behind their lines would normally be a bad move, but they were being propelled into Ruby, who was spinning around with her weapon. It was like being thrown into a blender. A very angry blender. Between the blade and the wall, which was Yang and her prize-winning fists, the two poor freedom-fighters had no way out, and no chance for redemption.

It was a crushing team-attack, but it wasn't sustainable, as it left both girls rather vulnerable. Neo was having to fill in the gaps, blinking around the battlefield and leaving only shattered glass behind. The red speedster stopped the motion, as two bodies fell down, victims of that unbreakable sisterly bond.

"Strawberry Shortcake!"

Neo took a quizzical glance their way, trying to understand what was the deal with the non-sensical names. Yang picked up on it and explained, before returning the activity she so loved: smashing faces with her shotgun-gauntlets.

"It's her team-attack for you two! Oh, just indulge her, and do it quick!"

The fun-sized maniac nodded and jumped up, landing on top of Crescent Rose. Ruby raised the weapon high and took a shot, the recoil making them both fly high above the crowd of White Fang members, who mistook the move for an escape, and concentrated the assault on the remaining blonde fighter. It wasn't very smart of them, but they couldn't have known.

Neo jumped off the red rocketship, and Ruby, still in flight, lined up a shot straight at her. When she took it, the multi-colored girl broke into little pieces of sharp and dangerous glass, that just so happened to be rapidly falling on the clueless terrorists. Some of them screamed, feeling the pain of being impaled, and those who successfully avoided any shards soon saw a red reaper descend from the heavens to get them.

Before they could recover, the assault moved on to the next phase.

"Baked Alaska!"

Yang stood back in waiting, fists raised up, while her girlfriend set the stage. One moment the two were there, and the next there were six Neos on the battlefield, forming a circle outwards, and nobody else. Whenever anybody tried to attack one of them, they shattered and the perpetrator received a mighty hit from an invisible Yang. Afterwards the mirror clone was replaced, and none of the enemies knew where there real trickster was. It was a great strategy for defense, considering neither girls were taking damage, but it still wasn't enough. The terrorists just kept on coming.

"Ugh where is Roman? I had attack names for him too!" Ruby pouted through the wild swings of her scythe.

"Oh shut up with your crappy ship names, we need a new plan. There are too many of them. Y'know, now would be a great time for some Special Eyes mumbo-jumbo!"

"I can't control it, Yang! It happened just that one time, because of Pyrrha. Unless you're volunteering to die, I think it's out of question."

"Then how about that hurricane thing you did at the food fight? That could buy us enough time to escape!"

"All right, give me a second." The reaper vaulted over a grunt, and leapt out of the action. "You might wanna hold on to something."

The masked criminals stopped attacking and traded confused glances between one another, trying to make sense of those words and the strange poses the girl was making.

She started running at a pace almost indiscernible to the eye. There was only a blur, speeding through the pavement, rotating until all that was left of her was a red bullet-like projectile. The air began to seem lighter, slowly at first but not long after with power of raging storm. Men and women struggled to grab anything that would keep them grounded, as the wind force began to lift them.

Yang and Neo were desperately gripping one of the nearby vehicles, hoping it's weight was enough to keep them from flying away. One White Fang member attempted to do the same thing, but all it took was a firm punch to the jaw and he went with the rest.

The whirlwind continued until no faunus was still anywhere near, all of them helplessly thrown like ragdolls. Ruby gradually slowed down and stopped to catch her breath.

"That. Was. AWESOME! Now let's go, sis, we have to move now!" Yang expressed her impressions of the transpired events by grabbing her younger sibling's arm and pulling her away.

The sniper allowed her body to be handled by the brute, too tired to even care. That attack was particularly draining on her stamina. They ran all the way to the outer-perimeter fence, which the blonde destroyed with her gauntlets, and then kept running until the terrorist base was out of sight. The three girls took a break to catch their breath.

"Well that didn't go as planned."

"Does anyone else feel like we forgot something?"

Neo shot them both a murderous look, rage burning within with an overbearing strength. It took them a little to understand what the reason for the glare was. Yang got there first.

"Where's Roman?

"Oh no... He's still at the base!"

* * *

Roman struggled against the shackles, but the rope stayed firmly in place. He knew that in a compound full of career-criminals they knew well how to bind a man with no way to escape, but in truth he just wanted a little more breathing room. Having your arms tied up behind your back wasn't the most comfortable position to be in. At least they had the decency to give him a chair, otherwise it would've been nothing short of torture.

From the darkness at the opposite side of the grey and windowless room came the creaking sound of a heavy metal door being dragged across the floor, followed by approaching footsteps. A woman all dressed in black emerged from the shadows, and the mobster suppressed a grimace at the new company.

"Kitty Cat! Fancy meeting you here!"

"It's been a while, Roman. Chains look good on you."

"Of course, I can make anything work. Didn't take you for the bondage type, although it makes perfect sense now that I think of it."

"Drop the jokes. I want you here as much as you want to be here." Blake wasn't smiling. She had a dead serious expressions, clouding her face from showing her true feelings.

"Oh, so this wasn't the worst booty call ever? Then why I am here?"

"I don't know."

To fill the void in both their understandings, a voice was heard from within the dark.

"He's a gift. For you." The man who spoke stepped forward. His red hair was still as vivid as Roman remembered, contrasting with his less than lively personality.

"Do you plan on torturing him too? I couldn't care less about this one even if I tried." The dark-haired faunus didn't seem at all pleased to see Adam, and neither was the retired criminal.

"Hey, hey. No need for torture, we're all businessmen here. And businesswoman... businessfaunus or whatever." No one paid any attention to his pleads.

"Oh no, I don't intend on doing anything to him, my love. He was, after all, your enemy, right?"

Blake nodded reluctantly.

"So, I want you to kill him."

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter was more dark and action-oriented. There were a few jokes I ended up removing because they felt out-of-place, and I needed to set up the finale. Angsty and gritty is kind of my thing, I'm honestly surprised I managed to keep it light-hearted going for so long.  
**

 **I took a few liberties with how Neo's semblance works. It's never really explained in detail, and there's a chance we won't be seeing her again in the show, so I thought it was a safe bet. I usually don't like to work with things that might be proven wrong by canon in a few months. And I really wanted to make team combos.  
**

 **As always, don't be shy about your opinions. Reviews are welcome, the more constructive the better.**


	9. Not Yours

**9\. Not Yours**

"We need to get him back!"

"Ruby, calm down. What we need is to think this through before charging in." Yang didn't have enough hands to hold down the two adorable but psychotically desperate girl in front of her. She had both arms wrapped around her lover, trying to restrain her from any brash actions, and was trying to talk her sister out of it as well. In truth, being the voice of reason and temperance was a first for her, but she had been given no choice, the only unbiased opinion of the trio.

"We can't just leave him there!"

"And we won't. First, what do we know about the base? Where would they take a prisoner?"

"T-The eastern block is solid enough to act as a prison, I guess..." Ruby was starting to focus on the task, and that was a victory.

"Okay, good, we have a target. What kind of resistance can we expect?"

"...Blake."

"Huh? Sorry, what did you say?"

"Blake's in there, I saw her. She's with the White Fang, she said something about protecting us."

Yang's arms loosened up, staggered by the revelation. She didn't expect to find the faunus, that certainly made things more complicated.

"We need to rescue her too, Yang. She doesn't know what she's doing, and it'll end up killing her."

She nodded. If there was a chance to save their former teammate, they had to, at least for old times' sake.

"All right, but one thing at a time. First we need a plan."

* * *

Having been to the terrorist compound just a couple of hours earlier, entrance was much easier. The patrolling guards were still recovering and regrouping from the assault, and so security was lighter on most sectors. The three girls managed to successfully infiltrate and make their way over to the objective: the easternmost industrial building.

The inside was just as grey and soulless as the outside. Tall ceilings creating seemingly infinite halls of concrete. Simple doors leading to massive rooms, some filled with machinery and supplies, others empty. No windows, only artificial lighting. It was all quite sickening, really.

Without a precise location on Roman, they started checking every room. It would take hours to comb through the place, but they didn't have too many options at hand. They proceeded as quietly as possible, trying to avoid being detected, but it would seem the building was deserted. If the White Fang really used it for incarceration, then they clearly weren't in the habit of taking prisoners.

While exiting one of the empty rooms, Yang heard a muffled thumping sound a little behind in the hall. When she turned to check the source she saw a man in black with red hair and a Grimm mask standing above Neo, who was falling to the floor with no signs of life.

There were no words traded as the blonde rushed to the front, gauntlets at the ready. Fire was burning inside, fury towards the thing who dared to hurt her precious. The man grabbed the scabbard of his weapon, not even unsheathing it, an act of arrogance that only fueled her desire to punch him to oblivion.

But before reached him, a red blur flashed between them, and Adam tripped and fell before he could register what had happened. While he was still getting up, Ruby was already kneeling by Neo's side, taking her pulse.

"She's fine, Yang. Just knocked out!"

The brawler breathed in relief. It didn't last long though, as the terrorist leader was now on his feet and not at all amused. But neither was Yang, and she had a whole repertoire of pain planned for him.

She closed in, and started punching blasts into his body, with little result. The man was lean and athletic, effortlessly dodging her shots, since they all came in straight bursts from her firsts, making them highly predictable. Her anger was boiling inside, deepening with every hit she missed. He wasn't attacking. He didn't consider them equals, she was just an insect unworthy of the effort. And she refused to be considered as such. The attacks came stronger and faster, unrelenting.

Without warning, Adam dove to the side. She was caught by surprise by the excessive reaction. There was no reason for him to move that much to avoid her punches, and he still wasn't making any offensive maneuvers.

Yang didn't see the blurry shape coming from behind where he had once been. She only felt the pain. The pain of being hit by a sixteen year old girl travelling through the air at an absurd speed. Ruby had aimed for the enemy, but the attack had backfired disastrously, and they were both sent tumbling down.

The brawler struggled to get her sister off of her, feeling her bones hurt by the force of the impact. Her Aura had taken a massive hit and she wasn't doing so well. Lying face down on the ground, she pressed all her strength in her arms to rise to her knees. When she did, a shadow engulfed her from behind. Before she could turn, the back of her neck was struck by the hilt of a sword, and Yang lost consciousness.

* * *

Blake was staring intently at the unconscious Torchwick. Adam had locked them in the same room until she decided to go ahead and end the mobster's misery. She had been the one to knock him out, his constant sarcastic mockery had become increasingly annoying and wasn't helping her resolve not to take his life.

The door creaked behind her, bringing her back to life. When the leader of the White Fang was the one who walked in, she averted his gaze and turned back. He probably just wanted to pressure her some more.

But instead, he grabbed her arm and forcibly pulled her away, causing a loud yelp.

"Come on, I have something to show you."

The cat-faunus was dragged through the grey halls until they reached a large reinforced door. It opened slowly and inside she found the lifeless bodies of Yang, Ruby and Neo, standing up with the help of dust-infused shackles. She screamed and ran to them, overwhelmed by grief and pain. All she had sacrificed, the horrible things she had done, it had all been for nothing. They were...

"They're still alive, don't worry. Well, for now."

"What do you want from me? I'll do anything, just let them go!"

"I want you to stand there and watch while I kill them slowly. Unless you want to do it yourself, of course." Adam stopped for a second, expecting an answer, but none came. "No? Fine, suit yourself. I think I'll start by the blonde one. Maybe chop off an arm or two, she does pack a mean punch."

Blake closed her eyes. It was unbearable to have to watch it all again. She couldn't take it anymore. In that fraction of a second, a decision sprouted inside her head: she would rather die than see another of her friends suffer at the hands of that monster.

Adam raised his hand upward, lifting Wilt for the blow. He didn't hear the subtle sound of a semblance being activated behind him. All he saw were the sparks of clashing metal just before he could slice Yang.

"I will not let your hurt anyone else ever again." Blake's voice was cold and sharp, devoid of any emotion but anger.

"Finally! I was wondering when you'd show up." The terrorist leader smiled and pressed his sword forward, making her cave under his strength. "I was so tired of that weak and pathetic girl you kept pretending to be. My Blake is a fighter, not a coward. All that rage and willpower, that's the woman I love."

He used the free hand to punch her side, making her lose her grip on the sword. Overwhelmed by his physical might, she had no choice but to blink away to safety, leaving a clone to take the hit.

"I'm not yours, and I will never be."

"Oh, I know that. I'm not stupid, I know you don't care for me." He jumped after her, brandishing his katana towards where she had been just seconds ago before blinking yet again. "All I want is for you to understand that we're the same. Monsters, outcasts forced to take extreme measures to survive. You think you're better than me, yet here you are ready to kill, to do whatever it takes. Just like me."

Sparks flew across the room as she tried time and again to strike him, only to be deflected or parried and forced to use her semblance to start over. The pace at which this happened made it almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, who would only see a man effortlessly waving his sword around. Adam could foresee her every move, and wasn't taking any damage, while she kept draining her Aura through the use of Semblance. But she maintained the relentless assault, hoping one strike would penetrate his defenses.

"I'm nothing like you."

"Then you'll lose. It takes a monster to defeat a monster."

Suddenly, he lowered the idle hand, grabbing the scabbard of his weapon, and attacked forward. Blake hadn't expected the offensive maneuver, and was hit in the stomach, tumbling back. Adam followed with a slash of his blade, but she left a clone and appeared behind him ready to counter. Only, when she did, there was a shoe travelling too fast towards her face to dodge. The kick made her fall to the ground, and the terrorist leader stood proudly above, casting his shadow over her body.

"I'm the one who trained you, remember? We made that sword together. You can't beat me, I know how you-" His speech ended abruptly as there was a blast on his foot. He looked down confusedly, but she was already gone.

There was another blast on his head, and then one at the back of his leg. He was trying aimlessly to defend against these new attacks, but couldn't. He hadn't counted on a completely new fighting style, it made no sense for her to fight differently unless she had a new weapon. Gambol Shroud couldn't fire shotgun shells.

The staff hit him in the left cheek, and then descended on his stomach. When he motioned to grab it, trying to get an advantage, Blake detached it into nunchuks and punished the mistake by firing at the hand.

Finding no exploitable weakness, Adam gave up and went on the offensive, like a trapped animal clawing for his life. This only made him less of a threat, as his erratic swings lacked any forethought or strategy, and she kept up the attack, blasting and striking him until all his Aura had been drained.

One of his legs faltered and he fell into one knee. The cat-faunus unleashed hell on his right wrist, sending the sword flying away. He was physically strong, but most of his energy had left him. He was powerless.

"It's the end, Adam. This is for Sun."

Placing both nunchuks against his head, she fired one last time. Without any protective barrier, the point-blank shells carved into his skull, splashing gore on the nearby walls and floor. It was over. His reign of terror had ended.

* * *

 **After the last two chapters, I was ready to drop this fic. I feel incredibly unsatisfied with it, the ideas I had did not translate well into the paper. It took me nearly a week just to start this chapter, I really wasn't feeling like trying anymore. But it was nearly over, so I decided to push through this last stretch.  
**

 **If you're still reading, I applaud your dedication. The epilogue is done, so I'll upload it tomorrow.**


	10. Change

**It's kinda funny (considering this is the ending), but I think I've finally figured out why I hate these last few chapters. It's because they're more about Blake than anything else, and I feel like it doesn't work because Roman and Ruby were the stars of the story, it didn't have enough foundations to stand by itself. Too late now, I guess.**

* * *

 **10\. Change**

Yang finished brushing her long golden locks, bearing through the stinging pain at the back of her head. Today she wanted to look her best, in order to hide her grieving pride about the defeat at Adam's hands. Her sister would smother her in foolish praise and comfort if she allowed, but she just wanted to pick up the pieces and use them to get stronger, as quietly as possible.

Moving out of the bathroom, she walked to the closet and stated to choose the outfit she would dress that day, her bare body swaying with each step, caressed by the breeze blowing in for outside. Standing by the wardrobe, she had her back turned to the window, and did not notice the crawling figure with entered through the opening.

"How's the head?"

She didn't need to turn to know that voice belonged to Blake. Her nakedness became so much more evident to her, but she made no effort to cover it. After all, the dark-haired faunus had seen her in much more compromising situations before. Instead, she proceeded with picking the clothing, and answered.

"It's still there, so I'll live. How's your… everything?"

"Sore and bruised, the usual deal." Her former partner seemed calm, just like she was back at Beacon, a far cry from the mess they had found in the White Fang base.

Yang adjusted the underwear into place, and bent over to put on a pair of shorts. There was no teasing implied in her action, not a sliver of seduction, just a girl getting dressed as normal.

"Anyway, what brings you here? It's still over an hour until we meet with Ruby at the bakery."

"I was hoping to catch you alone." There was a slight hesitation in her voice, which was understandable considering _what it sounded like._

The brawler slid a t-shirt over her chest, and turned to face the other girl. She wasn't yet fully dressed, but was presentable and the route the conversation was taking required eye-contact. Eye-contact and her trademark amused smirk.

"Planning on a booty call, Miss Belladonna? How naughty of you."

The black-clad ninja rolled her eyes, but huffed a suppressed laugh.

"I wouldn't dare, I met your new girlfriend. She seems… possessive."

"She is, but you don't need to be scared of her. I bet I could even talk her into a threesome…" The brawler waggled her eyebrows suggestively, although she had no real intention of fulfilling that promise.

"Why did we ever break up?"

"It wasn't me, I'm _purrfect_. You must've gone into heat or something"

"Oh now I remember. It was because you're a racist cunt."

"Hey! You loved my cunt!" Yang threw her tongue out playfully, causing the woman in black to chuckle and roll her eyes yet again.

"You really haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"Nope!" She bowed proudly, as if not growing up was an accomplishment. "But you have."

"Yes. All that time in the White Fang made me realize: I'm done running. I think it's time I face what I am and what I've done. Maybe I'll even ditch the bow." Yang reached a hand to it, but she slapped it away. "I said maybe."

"I'm proud of you. It's a great step you're taking."

"Thanks, Yang. It's good to know you're still my friend after everything."

"I don't know... It's kinda hard being friends with someone after you've seen how much their body can bend backwards."

"Ms. Xiao Long! That was not very ladylike of you!"

"Oh great, now I'm imagining Weiss bending over. Hello nightmares." They both laughed heartily for a good minute, before seriousness returned.

"I should go. Take care, Yang."

"You too, Blake."

* * *

Ruby was the first to spot Blake approaching in the distance, her sniper-trained eyes allowing for much better eyesight than the rest of her teammates. She stood up from her seat and waved vigorously, startling the other three people at the bakery table.

The faunus was carrying a travelling backpack, not too large, as would be expected from her. She walked up to the group, greeted them, and took the free chair that was waiting for her.

"What's with the bags? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I was thinking about going to Mistral for a while. Neptune and the gang deserve to know what happened to Sun." There was a slight pause due to the tension filling the air. "And since team RWBY is over, I might even consider joining them. They're one man down, and you seem to have a good team right here."

"Oh, that would make you... B-N-S-S... Team Buns!"

"Nice one, sis." Yang applauded. "And it makes sense with Blake there. I mean, it's not like Scarlet was the one bringing in the buns."

"Anyway, why did you call us here, Ruby?" The ninja directed the question at the youngster, but it was her sister who answered.

"Does she really need a reason to want to visit a place that sells cookies?"

"Hey! I just wanted to do a little victory celebration with everyone! But I guess it's a no go, if Blake's leaving." She made her best sad-puppy face, but no one fell for it. Maybe she was losing the touch, after so much time spent with Roman's cynicism.

"Oh, before you go, I have something of yours."

She took out the small back object and stretched her arm forward to offer it to the dark-haired huntress. The other girl's eyes widened in terror, and she nabbed it quickly, trying to keep the book away from sight. "I told you I'd give it back later."

"You don't need to be so ashamed, Blakey. It's not like you hid it very well when we were at Beacon. We all read it, even Weiss. Oh, you should have seen her face, it was priceless!"

" _Ahem…_ I think I should be going now. I'll see you guys later, okay?" The faunus excused herself, trying to hide her crimson cheeks.

Yang got up and crushed her in a bear hug, much to her girlfriend's annoyance, who was glaring daggers at the two. Ruby jumped from the chair and joined in.

They watched the former teammate walk away until she disappeared in the crowds filling the streets. The scythe-wielder returned to the table, but the brawler didn't.

"Well since this was already a bust, it's cool if we go too, right? I promised Neo I'd get her some ice cream as an apology." The mentioned girl face up with a tinge of sparkle in her eyes, a strange change from the usual bloodlust, and turned to the two remaining costumers, hoping for a positive answer.

"Sure, you can go. Have fun." Ruby looked defeated, but conceded their wish.

Only she and Torchwick were left, as they saw the couple leave hand jn hand. The mobster, who had been quiet up to that point, finally spoke.

"Look at our babies, leaving the nest. I'm so proud."

"They grow up so fast, don't they?"

"They sure do." The two shared half a laugh at the terrible joke. "Hey, Ruby? Thanks. For coming back for me and for... everything."

"No problem. We make a good team. And you can call me Red, I kinda like it."

They sat in silence, enjoying the peaceful moment of bonding. It didn't last long, though.

"Hey, Roman. Wanna go to their place, switch every bottle with flammable stuff and see how long it takes until Yang burns down the house?"

He smiled and grabbed his hat.

"You're damn right I do."

* * *

 **And so it ends.  
**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who stuck with this 'till now. I knew it was a gamble, and it had its ups and downs, yet it somehow managed to become my most favourited and followed fic. That's the power if Baked Alaska, I guess.  
**

 **As always, don't be shy about reviewing.** **I'm probably not returning to this type of story anytime soon, but that doesn't mean I can't learn from my mistakes.  
**


End file.
